Hamlin holds off Harvick for Phoenix win
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- Published on Wednesday, 07 March 2012 19:04
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With the annual extravaganza that has become the Daytona 500 behind us, NASCAR got on with the regular racing season last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Veteran Mark Martin showed the youngsters that he still has a bit left in the tank by capturing the 52nd pole of his career, turning a lap of 136.81 mph.
In the second race with 2011 Sprint Cup Champion crew chief Darian Grubb on his pit box, Chesterfield Virginia native Denny Hamlin held off Kevin Harvick in a 53-lap green flag run to secure the win in the 312 lap race. Fuel mileage was a critical factor as most of the leaders came to the pits to refuel for what turned out to be their final stops when NASCAR
Old school racing returns at Daytona Speedweeks
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- Published on Wednesday, 29 February 2012 00:24
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Speedweeks 2012 has gone back to old school racing.
Since the dawn of restrictor plate racing, pack racing has been the signature of racing at Daytona International Speedway. A couple of years ago someone realized pack racing was not the fastest way around the track. If two cars hooked up, one pushing the car in front, they could pick up 5 mph or more than the speed of the pack.
Very quickly everyone was lining up drafting partners and the large packs of cars travelling inches apart and the ever present threat of the “Big One” became ancient history. The fans didn’t like this new style racing. NASCAR didn’t like it.
This past off season NASCAR did a lot of testing and modified the rules so that the car pushing the one in front would quickly
An all-Ford front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500
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- Published on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:55
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It’s going to be a pair of Fords from Roush Fenway racing on the front row Sunday for the Daytona 500.
Carl Edwards took the pole with a lap of 194.738 MPH. Teammate Greg Biffle was just a tick slower and will start from the outside of the front row. Sunday will mark the 11th time Edwards has turned in the fastest time in 266 Sprint Cup starts and is his first pole at Daytona. The last time a Roush Fenway Racing driver sat on the pole for the Daytona 500 was 2004 when Biffle led the charge. The front row is locked in for Sunday, the remaining 41 cars will establish their starting positions based on how they finish in the twin 150 Gatorade races tomorrow Feb. 23.
Pack racing is back at Daytona. This also means the “Big One” is back. Unhappy with the two-car drafting which has
“Shootout at Daytona” is Saturday Night
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- Published on Tuesday, 14 February 2012 23:39
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Daytona Speedweeks kicks off with the traditional “Shootout at Daytona” followed by pole qualifying to set the 54th Annual Daytona 500’s front row and the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. This pair of races sets the remainder of the field for the Feb. 26 Great American Race (FOX, 1 p.m. ET).
Top Drivers, Teams Ready for Shootout at Daytona
Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart figures to get his Speedweeks off to a good start when the 2012 edition of the “Shootout at Daytona” rolls off this Saturday, Feb. 18 (FOX , 8 p.m. ET). Stewart is a three-time winner of the non-points event, his most recent
Countdown to the Daytona 500
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- Published on Tuesday, 07 February 2012 21:45
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The calm before the storm begins again.
A wildly successful Rolex 24 went into the books Jan. 28 and 29 with Penske Racing’s first-year driver AJ Allmendinger taking the checkered flag for Michael Shank Racing. A harbinger of the season to come, perhaps, the Daytona International Speedway infield was packed with fans before the start of the 50th anniversary of the twice-round-the-clock affair.
Now everyone takes a deep breath before the engines fire again. Speedweeks 2012 resume on
Raising the curtain on the 2012 NASCAR season
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- Published on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 23:56
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The last several years have been a bit like “bringing up Brian.” Ever sine Bill France Jr. turned over the reins of the family business to his son Brian in 2003, you kind of had the feeling that we had to endure the growing pains of Brian France learning how to run a national sport the size of NASCAR. In 2011, it finally came together and produced the most exciting and competitive season in many years.
We still have some of the foolishness created under the Brian France regime, such as the “Lucky Dog Rule” and the “Chase for the Sprint Cup”. But I must admit, this past season’s “Chase “ with
